Gage and gage-clamp.



K0 MODEL.

PATENTED AUG. 2, 1904. F. H. RICHARDS. GAGE AND GAGE CLAMP.

APPLICATION FILED OUT. 2. 1003.

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No. 766,790. 7 PATBNTED AUG. 2, 1904. F. H. RICHARDS. GAGE AND GAGE CLAMP.

APPLICATION I'ILED OUT. 3. 1903.

N0 MODEL.

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UNITED STATES Patented August 2 1904.

PATENT OFFICE.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, OF HARTFORD, CONNECTICUT, ASSIG-NOR TO THE STANLEY RULE & LEVEL COMPANY, OF BRITAIN, CONNECTICUT, A CORPORATION OF CONNECTICUT:

GAGE AND GAGE-CLAMP.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 766,790, dated August 2, 1904.

Application filed October 2, 1903.

To all whom it may concern.-

Be it known that I, FRANCIS H. RICHARDS, a citizen of the United States, residing at Hartford, in the county of Hartford and State of Connecticut, have invented certain new and useful Improvements in Gages and Gage Clamps, of which the following is a specification.

This invention relates to and has for an object to provide an improved and efficient workgage and gage-clamp for Work-tables and miter-boxes.

In certain classes of Work in which miters and bevels will be called into requisition it is found desirable to employ in the mechanism made use of to support the work for sawing a gage for the edge of the workas, for in .stance, if it is desired to put a miter or other bevel upon a piece of molding which is intended to lie diagonally in a corneras, for instance, between the ceiling and the wall and wherein the edges of the molding are beveled to lie against the faces of the wall and ceiling, respectively, and leaving a space in the corner-it will be necessary to place the molding in the same position in the miter-box and hold it there with accuracy while it is being sawed and to have each piece of molding positioned the same as every other piece was positioned. It may also be desired to hold other work in a diagonal position or to otherwise control the work. It may also be desired to put an angle on the work which the miter-box employed is incapable of at its standard positions,when it would be merely necessary to draw out one of the gages and permit the back of the work to abut against the gage, when the desired angle may be had.

As generally constructed, a miter-box will comprise a floor and a back plate and means to guide the saw at various angles across the floor and through the back plate, when the work positioned by such floor and back plate will be out upon the bevel at which the saw is placed. These instruments are carried from place to place by the carpenters and other workmen having occaslon to use them and Serial No. 175,419. (No model.)

attachments upon them should be so positioned 5 0 relative to the main frame of the device that they, will be practically out of the way when not in use, both for convenience and safety, so that blows received will be withstood with greater strength and the parts placed out of the path of danger, so that the number of blows received will be minimized. It is therefore necessary that the parts he made so that they will lie closely to the machine at a portion thereof which will be out of the way of the workman and also for economy that the parts be made out of simple material and by simple mechanical and manufacturing process in their production.

' In the drawings accompanying and forming a part of this specification a form of -my invention is illustrated as applied to a miterbox, wherein-- Figure 1 is a top view of one end of a mi ter-box, showing the gage set in a working position. Fig. 2 is an enlarged central sectional view of the clamping device for the gage in an unclamped position. Fig. 3 is a similar view, but partly in elevation, showing the device clamped. Fig. at is a perspective view of the under side of the clamping-plate. Fig. 5 is a cross-section on the line 5 5 of Fig. 1, showing a piece of work in position. Fig. 6 is a diagram illustrating the various positions of the gage in being moved into its position of storage, and Fig. 7 is an enlarged detail of the engaging faces of the set-screw and lever.

The miter-box herein illustrated, to which my invention is applied, is designated in a general way by 100 and is shown as comprising a bed-plate or framing 8, having a board flooring 9 and a back plate 10. At the rear of the back plate is shown a lug or shelf 11, having a plane face 12 slightly below the level of the positioning-face 13 of the floor-board. The floor constitutes a work-table, its face 13 serving to control the position of the work and the back plate to control the position of the work in a transverse direction. The shelf 'commodate the blade 16.

is shown as having a screw-threaded hole 14, located in the present instance at the outer end and at one side of the median line of such shelf and the back plate at a position adjacent to the other side of the shelf as having a passage-way 15. The gage in the present instance is shown as comprising a beam or blade portion 16 and provided in the present instance with a scale 17, marked off in inches, and which blade carries at one end a post 18 and at its other end a stop-pin 19. The floor is provided with a transverse channel 20, equal in width and depth to the width and thickness of the blade 16, which channel is on a line with the opening in the back platejand its bottom is shown on the plane of the surface 12 0f the shelf. It will be observed that this blade is made out of plain material, which may be of any stock wire or bar which is suitable for the purpose, and that such blade is made without any channels or slots in it, which channels or slots, as is well known, require in their manufacture the use of heavy and expensive tools and require considerable time to finish after having been slotted. In my device the blade may be securely clamped in any of its adjusted positions by the use of a set-screw 21, entering the screw-thread hole in the shelf and which set-screw is provided with a shoulder 22 adjacent to its head. a A plate (designated in a general way by 23) is mounted upon the set-screw and has an opening 24 for its passage. The plate is shown as having a flange 25 surrounding it and which flange is cut away or of least projection at 26 to ac- It is cut away or of partial projection at 27, 28, and 29 to give it clearance from the shelf and is permitted at 30 to stand out as a post to rest upon the face of the shelf. The other side of the plate has a hub 31 surrounding the opening 24 and which hub has a slanting face 32, which is highest at its side toward the end which is to embrace or lie upon the blade. It will be seen in Fig. 2 that the face 33 of the shoulder on the set-screw rests upon the side 34 of the face 32 of the hub and that there is a clearancespace 35 left between the face of the shoulder and'the face of the hub at the side toward the post 30, so that upon the set-screw being screwed down a leverage will be exerted, the force being applied at 34, the fulcrum at 30, and the Work performed at 26 upon the blade of the gage, whereby at the time the parts reach the position shown in Fig. 3 the plate will have sprung sufliciently to give a very strong clamping action to the gage-beam and hold the same securely in position. It will also be seen that the point 36 of the portion 26 of the flange engages the beam at the initial stages of clamping and that at the point 37 there is no contact with the beam, but that in the clamped position both of said points bear on the beam and hold it flat upon the surface to which it is clamped.

The gage may be moved back and forth'to various positions. H

In Fig. 1 the beam or blade 16 is shown as longer than the floor of the machine. This is merely an arbitrary illustration, and in practice the beam will be made of a sufficient length to meet the requirements of the employment of the miter-box or other mechanism in which it is embodied. The dotted line 38 in Fig. 1 is to show the position the blade will assume when it is desired to store the gage behind the back plate and out of the way, in which position it maybe clamped and there stored, not interfering in any manner with the working of the device and being out of the way of the workman and also out of the way of blows and abuse. Fig. 6 shows the various positions in folding the gage and in unfolding it. After the set-screw has been released the blade or beam will be drawn back, permitting the post 18 to pass through the opening or passage-way in the back plate until the parts assume the relation shown in the full-lined position of Fig. 6, when the blade will then be swung about the set-screw as its pivot to the positions 60, 0, and until they assume the position 90, which is the storage position for the parts. It will be seen that in the position 7 O the point 39 of the perimeter of the post 18 just clears the back surface 40 of the back plate of miter-box and that the point 41 of the perimeter of said post lies against the face 42 of the plate 23, thus indicating that the parts are merely given clearance in their movement from the working position to the storage position. It will also be observed that the storing of the gage requires but a simple movement or series of simple movements and that the parts do not have to be moved and then given reverse movement. Upon loosening the set-screw the gage will be drawn out of the boX until the post 18 abuts the plate 23,

and while in such position the parts will then be swung about the set-screw as a pivot, bringing them to storage position without any unnecessary movement or reversal of movements. When it is desired to again use the device, the set-screw will be unscrewed and the beam unclamped and the parts moved from the position shown in dotted line 90 back to the position 50, when the gage will be passed through the opening in the back plate across v the floor and made to assume the position shown in Fig. 5 or any other desired position, as will be indicated to the workman by the scale upon the blade or by any other means of measurement he may desire to adopt.

In Fig. 5 a piece of cornice-molding 43 is shown in the box. One face, 44, of the molding will, when the same is placed in position, rest on the wall, and another face, 45, will rest on the ceiling, leaving an open space 46, so that by placing the faces 44 and 45 on the floor and back plate, respectively, and adjusting the post of the gage to hold the same in such position thesaw will cut the bevels so that they will match with accuracy. The angleof the joint being known, it will simply be necessary to adjust the saw accordingly, and upon holding the work at the position it willassume in the structure to which it is to be applied the saw cannot do otherwise than out an exact fit.

The set-screw, it will be seen, stands alongside the beam and exerts its clamping action upon the beam through a lever which the screw causes to firmly grip against the surface orbody carrying the set-screw. The setscrew 21 is a suflicient distance from the backplate to permit it to be conveniently taken hold of and turned. If the beam were slotted and such slot traversed by the set-screw, the beam and post would lie when stored outside of the line of the outer edge of the position, when similarly stored, of the solid beam madefeasible by the present invention, Thus not only is economy of time and expense had by the solid beam, but also ecomony of space.

The invention may be applied to other structures than miter-boxes, it being so applied herein for the purpose of illustration and only one end of a box is so shown, it being obvious that the number of gages will be used in each structure which will be demanded by the work they are designed to perform.

Certain features of the miter-box frame illustrated herein are claimed in my copend ing application, Serial No. 17 5,425, filed October 2, 1903.

Having thus described my invention, I claim 1. The combination with a rigid support having a flat face, a set-screw entering the support, a shoulder on the screw, a gage resting on the face, a plate overlying the gage and traversed by the screw, a hub having a face to engage the shoulder on one side before it engages it on the other, and to engage the shoulder upon such other side at the locking or clamping position, and a post to support one end of the plate.

3. In combination with a miter-boX,a shelf carried thereby; a beam shiftable upon the face of the shelf; a set-screw in the shelf; a plate having a bore "at one end surrounding such set-screw; aflange extending around the plate; a protrusion on the flange nearsuch bore; the flange near the other end being cut away at each side; a hub on the plate around the bore havinga plane face higher onthe side toward therein; a beam shiftable upon such face; a i

gage carried thereby; a plate carried by the screw and bearing upon the face of the beam;

a flange on the screw; and a hub on the plate to contact with the flange on the screw and having a face on a plane at an angle to the face of such flange when the parts areloosely assembled and upon the same plane when the parts are in their clamped position.

5. In combination, with a miter-box having a back plate, a shelf-like lug protruding backwardly of said plate, a set-screw seated at the outer edge of such shelf at one side of the median line, a passage-way through the plate at the other side of such line, a gage carried by a beam organized to pass through such passage-way and the beam to lie upon said shelf, a plate controlled by the set-screw and overlying the beam, the gage on its withdrawal organized to abut the plate and when so abutting to turn therewith on the set-screw as a pivot toward the side of the median line occupied by the set-screw to clear the back plate and when turned transversely of its working position to lie close to such back plate and between it and the set-screw.

6. The combination with a work-table, of a gage to position the work and embodying a work-engaging portion and a beam carrying the same; a member resting upon the table and upon the beam and pivoted to the table by a set-screw occupying a position adjacent to one side of said beam, which member is also adapted to swing with the beam about such pivot and to permit the same to reciprocate therethrough; and said set-screw.

7. The combination witha work-table, of a gage comprising a work-engaging member, a blade to carry the same; a set-screw without the lines of the beam to serveasa pivot therefor and a clamping-lever controlled by the set-screw and bearing upon the beam.

8. The combination with a work-table having a work-positioning face, of a cooperative work-positioning member; a beam carrying the same, a lever having its fulcrum on the table and its end on the beam, a set-screw taking into the table between the fulcrum and the beam and bearingupon the lever between the fulcrum and the end engaging the beam, to serve as a pivot for the beam and lever and to bind the leverupon the beam to hold the beam to the table.

9. In combination with a miter-box, a shelf carried thereby, a beam shiftahle upon the face of the shelf, a set-screw in the shelf, and a lever swiveled on the set-screw and engaging the beam.

a 10. The combination with a work-table having a work -positioning face, of a cooperative work-positioning member carried thereby and comprising a beam and a gage carried thereby; a plate surrounded by a flange having its extreme height at one end where it constitutes a post to engage the table; the rest of the flange being of less height than the post to clear the surface of the table, and adjacent to the other end being of still less height to embrace the beam; an opening in the plate adjacent to the post; a hub surrounding the opening and having its face at the side toward the post lower than at the other side, and asetscrew traversing the hole, entering the table and having a shoulder to engage said hub-face.

11. In a miter-box the combination with a frame embodyinga floor, aback plate, a shelflike lug behind the back plate and an opening through the back plate in the region of the shelf; a gage and gage-beam to lie upon the shelf and traverse the opening; a set-screw; a lever carried thereby and resting on the shelf and gage-beam, and serving to clamp the same and hold it to the set-screw to turn thereon as a pivot.

12. The combination with a work-table,of a beam carried thereby; agage upon the beam; a set-screw having a transverse shoulder and screwed into the table to serve as a pivot for the beam; a plate having an opening surrounding the screw, a post adjacent to the opening, a flange to overlie the beam and organized to engage the beam first at the side of the top face thereof farthest from the screw, and as the screw is screwed downto engage both sides of the face of the beam.

Signed at Nos. 9 to 15 Murray street, New York, N. Y. this 19th day of September, 1903.

FRANCIS H. RICHARDS.

Witnesses:

CHASNLYON RUSSELL, FRED. J. DOLE. 

